This section provides information on the personal characteristics of teachers and leaders who started an NPQ from the reformed suites of NPQs in the academic years 2021/22 and 2022/23.
Percentage figures are not provided for categories where the relevant data is absent. Inclusion in the ‘Unknown’ category may indicate that either the teacher could not be matched in the School Workforce Census, or that the information is missing in the School Workforce Census.
Course type
The NPQ for Senior Leadership was the most frequently taken course from the reformed suite of NPQs with 8,969 funded starts in the academic year 2022/23, accounting for 25.1% of all funded NPQ starts. The NPQ for Leading Teaching was the second most frequently taken NPQ with 7,425 funded starts, accounting for 20.8% of all funded NPQ starts. The NPQ for Headship was the third most frequently started NPQ with 4,387 funded starts, representing 12.3% of all funded NPQ starts.
There were two new courses offered in the academic year 2022/23. These were NPQ for Leading Literacy, with 3,064 funded starts, representing 8.6% of all funded NPQ starts, and the NPQ Early Years Leadership, with 3,102 funded starts, representing 8.7% of all funded NPQ starts.
Teacher grade
In 2022/23, assistant and deputy headteachers were the teacher grades with the highest rate of workforce participation (10.4% and 10.3%, respectively), followed by headteachers (8.6%). This reflects the fact that NPQs courses are generally aimed at more experienced teachers, and many support the development of leadership skills. The number of classroom teachers taking an NPQ has substantially increased from 21,247 in 2021/22 to 24,420 in 2022/23.
Working hours
In 2022/23, 27,473 funded NPQ participants were working full-time, and 3,931 were working part-time. There were 4,180 funded NPQ participants whose working hours are unknown.
The percentage of full-time teachers in the teaching workforce who started an NPQ was 7.1%, compared to 3.2% for part-time teachers.
Age group
In the academic year 2022/23, teachers and leaders in the 30 to 39 age group had the largest number of funded NPQ participants (13,788), followed by teachers and leaders in the 40 to 49 age group (9,581) and those in the 25 to 29 age group (5,571). There were 3,150 funded NPQ participants whose age is unknown.
Those in the 30 to 39 age group were most likely to start a funded NPQ, with 8.1% of teachers starting an NPQ. The percentage of teachers in the school workforce who were between 25 and 29 years old and started a funded NPQ was 7.4%.
Teachers who were under 25 years old had the second lowest percentage of funded NPQ participants (2.1%), reflecting the fact that NPQs are designed to support professional development for more experienced teachers. Funded NPQ participation was 3.3% among teachers who were 50 to 59 years old and 0.9% among teachers who were 60 or over.
Gender
In the academic year 2022/23, the majority of funded NPQ participants were female (24,021), while male teachers accounted for 8,397 funded NPQ participants. The gender of 3,166 funded NPQ participants was unknown.
The percentage of male teachers in the school workforce who started an NPQ was 6.8%, compared to 6.2% of female teachers. Male teachers were slightly more likely to start an NPQ course than female teachers.
Ethnicity
In the academic year 2022/23, most funded NPQ participants identified as White (26,545), followed by 1,335 funded NPQ participants identifying as Asian or Asian British. 849 funded NPQ participants identified as Black or Black British, 512 identified as Any other Mixed background, and 222 identified as Any other ethnic group.
Teachers who identified as Black or Black British had the highest rate of funded NPQ participation (7.3%), followed by those who identified as Any other Mixed background (6.6%) and those who identified as White (6.4%).